The crypto pet you didn’t know you needed… It’s an Aavegotchi
NFT Nerds + DeFi Degens = Aavegotchi
The Inevitable Marriage of Yield Farming and NFTs
What are NFTs?
NFTs are Non-Fungible Tokens
That means that they are provably rare and unique using blockchain technology. Each token (crypto-collectible) has random properties and characteristics, and can be traded on the open markets. With NFTs on the Ethereum network they programatically encode the traits previously mentioned and are therefore yours and yours alone.
What is DeFI and who/what are the Degens?
DeFi is short for “decentralized finance”
This an umbrella term for a variety of financial applications in cryptocurrency or blockchain geared toward disrupting financial intermediaries. Today the majority of these applications are hosted on the Ethereum network. Examples of which include : Compound Finance; Aave; MakerDao.
The “Degens” as they are often referred to are a group of very early adopters of these financial applications, who often times take significant risks (unaudited smart contracts, anonymous founders/programers) with their capital to earn outsized returns (think 25% to 1000% APY)
What are Aavegotchis?
Aavegotchis are DeFi-powered NFTs
To be more specific they are provably-rare DeFi-staked NFT collectibles, powered by Aave.
Aave is an open-source and non-custodial protocol enabling the creation of money markets.
Aave protocol launched on Ethereum mainnet in January 2020 and is now dominating the DeFi market with a total of $2.1 billion locked on the platform
Also important to note — Aave means ‘ghost’ in Finnish! Hence your Aavegotchi looks like a …… (it’s a ghost)
Aavegotchis are not only great as individual collectibles but they are also playable in the Aavegotchi decentralised NFT game. As crypto-collectibles they live on the Ethereum blockchain, backed by the ERC721 standard used in popular blockchain games such as Cryptokitties, Axie Infinity, and Cryptovoxels. Aavegotchis possess three attributes that determine their overall value and rarity within the Aavegotchi universe — collateral stake, traits, and wearables.
Just like a Tamagotchi you have to take good care of your digital spooky friend.
Collateral Stake
Each Aavegotchi ERC721 NFT manages an escrow contract address that holds an Aave-backed ERC20 collateral, or “aToken”.
aTokens generate yield via Aave’s LendingPool, which increases the quantity of aTokens held in the wallet. Thus, the amount of aTokens held in the Aavegotchi’s escrow address grows over time.
Examples of popular aTokens include aDAI, aUSDT, aLINK, aLEND, and aSNX.
Traits
Aavegotchis possess multiple traits that influence their rarity, their performance in mini-games, and the wearables they can equip. Some are generated randomly upon birth, and others depend on user interactions with the Aavegotchi.
Randomly-Generated Traits
Upon birth, every Aavegotchi is assigned several random trait values using the ChainLink VRF random number generator. Trait values are distributed on a bell-curve, and each trait is assigned a value of Common, Uncommon, Rare, Legendary, or Mythical, depending on its rarity.
Kinship
“Kinship” is not randomly assigned, but rather starts at a fixed value upon birth and increases or decreases based on various factors, such as how long the Aavegotchi has been with the same owner, and how often the owner interacts with it.
Level
Aavegotchis “level up” as they gain more experience by voting in AavegotchiDAO and participating in mini-games. Every few levels, Aavegotchis receive one Spirit Point that can be allocated towards increasing or decreasing a certain trait.
Wearables
In addition to managing the aToken escrow, Aavegotchis also extend the ERC998 Composables standard, which allows them to manage child NFTs, known as wearables in the Aavegotchi ecosystem.
Not every wearable can be equipped by every Aavegotchi. Some wearables may be exclusively equipped by Aavegotchis staked with certain collaterals, those of a certain level, and those with certain traits.
Some wearables can increase or decrease certain traits of an Aavegotchi. For example, equipping a sword may slightly boost an Aavegotchi’s aggressiveness, whereas equipping a Bob Marley shirt may decrease its energy level.
Important answers to important questions
Can you name my Aavegotchi?
Yes, when you claim your Aavegotchi from the portal, you will have an opportunity to give it a name. Choose wisely though, because Aavegotchi names are unique and cannot be changed!
How do I get an Aavegotchi?
To acquire an Aavegotchi, you must first acquire an Aavegotchi Portal.
Upon opening your Portal, you will discover 10 different Aavegotchis lurking within. You will be forced to choose but one of these 10.
Depending on the rarity of its traits, each Aavegotchi will require a different amount of staked collateral to summon. Stake that amount to the Aavegotchi of your choice and, voila! You are now the proud owner of a DeFi-staked Aavegotchi NFT!
What platforms will they be available on?
Aavegotchis will initially live on aavegotchi.com but one day they’ll also expand to iOS and Android platforms.
Are Aavegotchis on-chain?
Absolutely. All metadata including name, traits, wearables, and art itself are all on-chain. They have done some brilliant work optimizing and storing SVG files onchain in a gas-friendly way.
Why do Aavegotchis have a crystal on their forehead?
The Aavegotchi logo features an Ethereum logo as its third eye. Real Aavegotchis will display the logo of their underlying collateral in this position. If your Aavegotchi is staked with interest-generating DAI, there would be a DAI symbol in place of the crystal.
When main net launch?
January 4th 2021.
Conclusion
With the evolution of blockchain based use cases Aavegotchi provides an insight into what exciting mashups we can begin to imagine. Whether its a cross over between finance and collectables or geo-spacial applications and reward points this is truely an early beginning into a fantastic adventure.
So get involved and learn by doing — www.aavegotchi.com
